Display-rack holder.



No. 765,610. PATENTED JULY 19', 1904.

B. BOLLHOEFBR.

DISPLAY RACK HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1 1903.

no MODEL.

U a Y 2 /7 vwumasses inventor Patented July 19, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

EDDIE BOLLHOEFER, OF COLFAX, IOWA.

DISPLAY-RACK HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION, forming part of Letters Patent No. 765,610, dated July19, 1904.

Application filed June 1, 1903. Serial No. 159,429. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDDIE BOLLHOEFER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Colfax, in the county of Jasper and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Display-Rack Holders, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The objects of my invention are to provide a device of simple, durable,and inexpensive construction to be attached to an elevated support andprovided with a number of ropes or cords designed to support a displayrack or rod to receive articles intended to be displayed, and, further,to provide means by which said rack or rod may be quickly and easilyelevated by pulling upon a rope or cord and supported in any position inwhich it may be placed, and, further, to provide means whereby a pullupon the same rope or cord will release the rack or rod, so that it maydescend by gravity and be stopped and held automatically at any point.

A further object is to provide a device of this class in which thevarious cords or ropes may be wound up in a uniform manner, so as toavoid danger of their becoming entangled or unevenly wound.

A further object is to provide means by which the cord or rope forraising and lowering the rack or rod will be automatically supported ata certain height when released, so that the operator may easily andquickly grasp the handle on the end thereof.

My invention consists in certain details in the construction,arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the'device, wherebythe objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully setforth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the completedevice attached to an elevated support as in practical use. Fig. 2 showsan end elevation of the drum upon which,the ropes or cords are wound andconnected parts. Fig. 3 shows an inverted plan view of same. Fig. 4shows a plan view of the blank from which the supporting-frame of thedrum is formed, and Fig. 5 shows in perspective the detachable end ofsaid frame or support.

have used the reference-numeral to indicate the body'portion of theframe of my device. It is intended that the frame shall be attached tothe under surfaces of ceiling-joists or other elevated supports, and forthis rea' son I have made the body portion of the frame long and narrow,adapting the frame to be attached to the under surface of a joist. Atone end of the frame 10 is an integral lug 11, having an opening 12therein for purposes hereinafter made clear. At the other end of thebody portion 10 is a detachable lug 13, having an opening 14 therein.

Formed on one side of the body portion are two brackets 15, and on theother side are two similar brackets 16. Each of these brackets isdesigned to support a direction-pulley 17.

The numeral 18'indicates an arm integral with the-body portion 10, saidarm having a detent l9 pivoted thereto, the outer end of the detenthaving an inclined surface 20 and a flattened lower end 21 for purposeshereinafter made clear.

The reference-numeral 22 indicates a shaft having formed on or fixedthereto a drum 23. The body portion of this drum is provided with anumber of partitions 24:, dividing the drum into a number of differentcompartments, and formed on or fixed to the same shaft is aratchet-wheel of peculiar design arranged to be engaged by the detent19. This ratchet-wheel is provided with a number of cam-faces 25 on itsperiphery, each of said faces being of segmental form eccentricallyarranged, and between each pair of said camfaces 25 is a notch 26. Theseparts are arranged substantially as shown in the accompany drawings andoperate as follows: Assuming that the detent and ratchet-wheel are inthe position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, it is obvious that theupper portion of the ratchet-wheel is locked against rotation toward theright because the flattened end of the detent is in one of the notches26. However, if the upper end of the ratchet-wheel is moved toward theleft then one of the shoulders on the ratchet will engage the inclinedsurface 20 of the detent and elevate it out of the notch 26. This ismade possible by having the part 20 inclined away from a line drawn fromthe top of the part 20 toward the center of the ratchet-wheel, and alsoby having the shoulders on the ratchet-wheel inclined in the same way tosuch an extent that when the shoulder on the ratchetwheel pressesagainst the inclined face of the part 29 said part will be elevated outof the notch 26. Then if the upper end of the ratchetwheel is rotatedtoward the right with con siderable speed the flat end of the detentwill not fall into the same notch 26, but will strike upon one of thesegmental eccentric faces 25, and as the ratchet-wheel rotates each oneof these faces will tend to throw the detent upwardly, so that it maynot enter any of the notches 26. However, if the speed of rota.- tion ofthe ratchet-wheel is decreased to a suflicient extent then the flat endof the detent will enter one of the notches 26 and stop further rotationof the ratchet-wheel.

From the foregoing description it is obvious that the drum may at anytime be freely rotated in one direction, but locked against movement inthe other direction, and can only move in this latter direction whengoing at a certain speed, and it will again become locked by the detentwhen the speed is sufficient] y decreased.

I have provided for rotating the drum in one direction as follows: Thenumeral 27 indicates a cord or rope wound upon one end of the drum 23between said end and the adjacent one of the partitions 24. This cord orrope 27 is passed over a direction-pulley 28, then under a pulley 29,which supports a weight 30, then over a direction-pulley 31, and the endof said cord or rope is provided with a handle 32. A stop 33 is attachedto the said rope to limit the upward movement of the end portion thereofwhen the said stop strikes the pulley 31. In use with this portion ofthe device it is obvious that the handle 32 is always at the sameelevation when it is released, because the weight 30 will always drawthe end of the rope upwardly until the stop 33 strikes the pulley 31.When it is desired to rotate the drum, the operator pulls downwardlyupon the handle 32, and the first effect of this pull will be simply toelevate the weight 30. A further pull upon the handle 32 will cause thedrum to rotate as the cord or rope 27 is being unwound therefrom.

The means for supporting a display rack or rope comprises two cords orropes 34, wound upon the drum 23 between separate ones of the partitions24. These cords or ropes 34 are passed over the directi0n-pulleys'17 atone side of the drum and also over direction-pulleys 35, attached to anelevated support some distance from the drum, and the lower ends of saidcords or ropes are attached to and support the display rack or rod 36.The other end of the display'rack or rod is sup- I provide for windingthe various cords or ropes upon the drum in an even and uniform .mannerby mounting the shaft 22 in its supp orts in such manner that the saidshaft may freely move longitudinally to a limited extent, and when theshaft of the drum is rotated in a direction to unwind the cords or ropesthe shaft and drum move longitudinally in the shaft-supporting brackets,because the direction-pulleys 17 are placed quite close to the drums,and then when the drum is rotated in a direction to wind up the cords orropes the shaft will be moved longitudinally in an opposite direction,so that at all times the cords or ropes are wound uniformly andregularly upon the drum.

In practical use I first attach my improvement to the ceiling or someother elevated support and connect the cords or ropes there with in themanner shown, the handle 32 being so. arranged as to be readilyaccessible and the display rackor rod 36-being attached to the cords orropes 34 and 37 My improvement is of especial value in displaying drygoods, and the articles to be displayed are placed upon and draped overthe rack or rod 36. The work of draping the said rack and ofdisplayingzthe goods in an artistic manner thereon may be done when therack or rod is in a lowered position, and obviously when in thisposition the operator may easily, readily,

and quickly display the goods thereon to the best advantage. WVhen thegoods have been secured to the rack or rod, the operator pulls upon therope 27, and when the said rope is pulled the shouldersof theratchet-wheel engage the inclined edge of the detent and keep the detentout of the notches 26, so that the detent does not in any way retardthis movement of. elevating the display rack or rod with the goodsthereon. This rack or rod is elevated to any desirable height, and thisis another material advantage of my device, because with other methodsof displaying goods the goods cannot be readily and quickly changed fromone elevation to another until the operator determines by experimentwhich is the most desirable height. As soon as the operator releases therope 27 the weight 30 elevates the end of the rope until the stop 33engages the pulley 31, so that said rope is drawn up to a position whereit will not be conspicuous or objectionable. If at any time it isdesired to lower the display rack or rod, the operator does this bysimply pulling upon the handle 32 until the detent 19 is elevated out ofthe notch in which it rests. Then by releasing the said handle 32 theweight of the rack or rod will cause the drum to rotate rapidly, and thecam faces 25 of the ratchetwheel will prevent the detent from enteringany of said notches until when the rack or rod is sufiiciently loweredthe operator holds the rope 27, thus slowing up the movements of theratchet-wheel and permitting the detent to drop into the adjacent one ofthe notches 26, whereupon the rack or rod is locked in position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is-

1. In a device of the class described, a drum rotatably supported, oneor more cords wound upon the drum in the same direction and projectedlaterally from'the drum, one or more cords wound upon the drum in anopposite direction and projecting laterally from the drum, adisplay-racksupported by said cords, an operating-cord wound upon said drum, andmeanscontrolled by said operating-cord for locking and releasing thedrum.

2. In a device of the class described, a drum rotatably supported, oneor more cords wound upon the drum in the same direction and projectedlaterally from the drum, one or more cords wound upon the drum in anopposite direction and projecting laterally from the drum, adisplay-rack supported by said cords, an operating-cord wound upon saiddrum, a ratchet'device fixed to the drum and having segmental eccentriccam-faces with notches between them, and a detent engaging the saidratchet device. f

3. In a device of the class described, a drum rotatably supported, oneor more cords wound upon the drum in one direction and projectinglaterally from the drum, one or more cords wound upon the drum andextended in an opposite direction, pulleys supported at the guidesadjacent to the drum and having said cords or ropes passed through them,a display rack or rod attached to said cords or ropes,

and means for turning the drum in a direc-' tlon for winding up thecords or ropes.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a drumrotatably and slidingly supported, a number of partitions on said drumdividing it into separate compartments, a number of cords or ropes fixedto and Wound .upon said drum, all in the same direction, a

number of guides adjacent to the drum and having said cords or ropespassed through them, and means for rotating the drum in a directionrequired for winding up the cords or ropes, for the purposes stated.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a frame, aperforated lug at one end of the frame and a detachable perforated lugat the other end thereof, a shaft rotatably and slidingly mounted insaid lugs, a drum formed on or fixed to the shaft, a ratchetwheel fixedto the shaft and having a number of segmental eccentric cam-faces withnotches between them on its periphery, a detent having an inclined faceand a fiat end to engage the ratchet-Wheel, a number of partitions onsaid drum dividing it into separate compartments, a number of cords orropes fixed to and wound upon the drum, each in a different compartment,a pulley for each of said cords or ropes connected with the frame, asecond pulley for each of said cords or ropes some distance from theframe, a display rack or rod supported by the ends of said cords orropes, and a cord or rope fixed to and wound upon the drum in one of itscompartments in a direction opposite from the other cords or ropes, twopulleys for supporting said cord or rope, a weighted pulley mounted uponthe cord or rope between said pulleys, and a stop on the cord or rope toengage the outer one of the two pulleys, all arranged and combined EDDIEBOLLHOEFER.

Witnessesz' E. F. BURNETTE, A. S. MARQUIS.

